A Brief Excerpt from the Journal of Jerik Somir - Jedi Historian
I came across them randomly, on a world on the fringes of the galaxy. They, at first, saw me as a potential enemy, though I assured them I meant them no harm and was only a historian seeking to document their existence. It took some convincing and exploration of my Force presence before they were convinced that I was just a simple Jedi and not there to cause problems. A very tightly knit and loyal group.
These individuals were strange. All of their signatures, those that had strong ones, were of the light. As I pressed many of them with questions I quickly learned that the vast majority of them had once been members of the same Order that I hailed from. It was remarkable. Many of them were Jedi that had been deemed dead and my historical texts indicated that they were lost in various battles or accidents. Some of them were exiles, cast out by the order because they didn't think in a manner that agreed with the council. Some had never been Jedi at all, but these last were few.
The one common theme among them: they all considered themselves Rogue Jedi.
Each one of them wore a strangely simple, but elegant, armor that seemed largely designed to protect their vital joints. The strangest thing I noticed was that none of them carried a lightsaber. I was informed that they had shunned their lightsabers as a result of the symbolism of the weapon and tool. They were immediately regarded with fear and apprehension when they carried them as people were unsure of whether they were Jedi or Sith. It was and remains a common problem for those of us that wield the Force, but for them to shun it outright, well, I find that fascinating.
In addition, this Order, as it was most certainly a tight knit Order, sought to destroy the darkness of the galaxy. It was their opinion that the Jedi Order had lost its ability to be what it was meant to be because of its association with the Republic. They believed that the Jedi were corrupted by their deference to politicians and military forces. I disagreed, of course, but they said they didn't care since I wasn't one of them.
In addition to all of this, I found a disturbing trend. These beings were ingesting, in a way, a part of their foe. Not literal ingestion, of course. I use the word symbolically. In the case of this group, I found them mixed with the blood of pure-born Sith though transfusion. How they had come across such a thing I do not know. They insist this was done to strengthen their tie to their enemy. According to them, they have become stronger through doing this, and more capable of facing their foes and thinking like them than ever before. Their records indicated numerous battles with Remnant Sith forces on Rim worlds, all victories. It was hard to argue with the facts, though I remained skeptical.
In the end I took my leave of them. I found their methods disturbing. How they could control the darkness within the blood was beyond me, though they seemed able to do just that. I could not bear to be around them longer than a few days, so I fear my record is minimal, but it should be sufficient. I do not expect them to last longer than a dew iterations.
This will, hopefully, be my only encounter with them, this Order of Paladins.
